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Pick of the week Kistler Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2004 ($79.95, product No. 642710) is a splurge-worthy luxury. Full-bodied and luscious, it's stacked with tropical fruit flavours and notes of toasted bread and stony minerals.

Chardonnay producers who want to be taken seriously by the connoisseur crowd will invariably describe their style as Burgundian. No credo is considered more holy by the cognoscenti, especially when applied to the world's most widely planted -- and too often innocuous-tasting -- white grape. There are some aficionados of white Burgundy who believe it is a travesty for anyone to grow chardonnay anywhere else but on the famous slopes between Dijon and Lyons in eastern France, a region associated with such hallowed places as Montrachet, Meursault and Corton-Charlemagne.

Great white Burgundies (they're all made from 100-per-cent chardonnay) are prized for their exceedingly complex structure and seductive interplay of lush fruitiness with nuances of roasted nuts, butter, honey and, most distinctively, minerals. It's fair to say most chardonnays in the world, especially the typically oak-laden fruit bombs of California, Australia and Chile, share little of the finesse found in the best white Burgundies.

But there are exceptions. And for my money some of the best New World examples of the celebrated Burgundian style are crafted by a cult winery in California called Kistler Vineyards.

One of a small band of super-elite chardonnay makers in California (another is Peter Michael, one of Tom Cruise's favourites), Kistler is a small, family-owned producer based in the Russian River Valley north of San Francisco.

It was founded in the late 1970s by Steve Kistler, a Stanford University graduate who studied oenology at the University of California at Davis before launching his wine career at famed zinfandel producer Ridge Vineyards. Kistler makes small quantities of excellent pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon too, but he built his fame mainly on a variety of single-vineyard chardonnays that range in price from $70 to more than $100. Yes, those numbers are insane, but comparable Montrachets (and Kistler's wines are in that league) start at a couple of hundred dollars a bottle.

You could say plenty of science goes into the wines, which are made with the help of teammate and chemist Mark Bixler, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UC Berkeley who taught chemistry at Fresno State University for seven years. But the pair pay huge respect to tradition, crafting their various chardonnays with classic, yes, Burgundian techniques, such as fermentation in oak barrels (as opposed to now-conventional steel tanks) to add richness and complexity. Kistler prunes his vines to drastically reduce their fruit yield, resulting in more concentrated juice. Bottling takes place without filtration to impart more depth and longevity.

One of those prized chardonnays is being released today in Ontario through Vintages stores, and it's guaranteed to be a treat for those who can afford it. Kistler Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2004 ($79.95, product No. 642710) will seem outrageously overpriced to level-headed people, but if you're passionate about wine, it's a splurge-worthy luxury. Full-bodied and luscious, it has a creamy texture and is stacked with tropical fruit flavours and notes of toasted bread and invigorating stony minerals. The finish is exceedingly long and harmonious.

Before I get to a couple of affordable highlights in today's release, I should mention another New World chardonnay producer who can out-Burgundy many Burgundians, Ontario's own Deborah Paskus. Readers of this column may know Paskus as the golden touch behind one of Canada's greatest wines, Temkin-Paskus Beamsville Bench Chardonnay.

She's now working her magic at a couple of other Ontario properties, including the newly opened Tawse Estate in Niagara, which is buying grapes from Paskus's old vineyard sources and has revived her famous Temkin-Paskus blend, renaming it Tawse Estate Beamsville Bench Chardonnay Reserve 2003 ($42). It's not available in stores, but Ontario residents can buy it directly from the agent, Vinifera, by the six- or 12-bottle case by calling 416-924-4004. I tasted it two weeks ago and it is brilliant, full-bodied and opulent, with rich tropical fruit, a buttery texture and beautifully integrated toasty oak. It should age beautifully for at least five years.

Turning back to the Vintages release, there's a decent entry-level example of the Burgundian style in the form of Roux Père & Fils Meursault 2004 ($39.95, No. 684639). Not as complex or full-bodied as the two chardonnays above, this white Burgundy is nevertheless a good buy, with hints of butter and baked apple and vibrant acidity.

The best buy of the release by far has got to be Elderton Friends Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 ($17.95, No. 595389). This rich, full-bodied red from Australia shows juicy blackcurrant and cherry flavours imbued with notes of coffee, chocolate, tobacco, smoke and cedar. It's complex yet accessible.

The other good red from Australia is Redbank The Fugitive Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 ($20.95, No. 678227), full-bodied and brimming with ripe blackcurrant, dark chocolate, a hint of licorice and juicy acidity.

And if you're fond of Rhone Valley reds, you may like the price of Château Pesquié Les Terrasses 2003 ($13.95, No. 652313) from the southern district of Côtes du Ventoux. It's medium-bodied, silky and polished, with hints of plum, blackcurrant and spices.

Also from the Rhone is Perrin Reserve Rosé 2004 ($13.95, No. 719062), a nicely balanced dry pink wine with hints of strawberry and herbs.

I'll cover more highlights from the release in next week's column, including the special New Zealand spotlight.

bcrosariol@globeandmail.com